Britain bans goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank

The United Kingdom has announced a ban on imports of all goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The ban also covers some services. The services named include financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate, and advertising. The geographic target of the import ban is the settlements in the West Bank.

Israel said it would reciprocate the British sanctions. It announced that it will close the United Kingdom consulate in East Jerusalem. It also said the United Kingdom will be forbidden from participating in the United States-led mission for Gaza. Those steps were presented as the Israeli response.

Israel also said it will ban some British officials from entering the country. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was named among the officials covered by that ban. The entry ban is part of the same response as the consulate closure. The report lists him by name and by his former role.

The British measure is an import ban on settlement goods plus limits on some services. The Israeli measure includes a consulate closure, exclusion from the Gaza mission, and entry bans. East Jerusalem is the place named for the consulate that Israel said it will close. Gaza is the place named for the mission the United Kingdom may not join.

The settlement ban applies to all goods from those settlements, as the British announcement stated. It does not, in that announcement, extend the goods ban to every product from Israel. The text of the step is limited to settlements in the West Bank and to the listed services. Financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate, and advertising are the service fields named.

The exchange is a sanctions step followed by a stated reciprocal response. Britain is the government announcing the import and services ban. Israel is the government announcing the consulate, mission, and entry measures. Corbyn is the British political figure named in the entry ban.